Current:Home > ScamsStorm sets off floods and landslides in Philippines, leaving at least 9 dead-LoTradeCoin
Storm sets off floods and landslides in Philippines, leaving at least 9 dead
View Date:2024-12-23 23:58:29
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A storm set off landslides and unleashed pounding rains that flooded many northern Philippine areas overnight into Monday, leaving at least 9 people dead and prompting authorities to suspend classes and government work in the densely populated capital region.
Tropical Storm Yagi was blowing 115 kilometers (71 miles) northeast of Infanta town in Quezon province, southeast of Manila, by midday on Monday with sustained winds of up to 75 kilometers (47 miles) per hour and gusts of up to 90 kph (56 mph), according to the weather bureau.
The storm, locally called Enteng, was moving northwestward at 15 kph (9 mph) near the eastern coast of the main northern region of Luzon, where the weather bureau warned of possible flash floods and landslides in mountainous provinces.
A landslide hit two small shanties on a hillside in Antipolo city on Monday in Rizal province just to the west of the capital, killing at least three people, including a pregnant woman, disaster-mitigation officer Enrilito Bernardo Jr.
Four other villagers drowned in swollen creeks, he said.
National police spokesperson Col Jean Fajardo told reporters without elaborating that two other people died and 10 others were injured in landslides set off by the storm in the central Philippines.
Two residents died in stormy weather in Naga city in eastern Camarines Sur province, where floodwaters swamped several communities, police said. Authorities were verifying if the deaths, including one caused by electrocution, were weather-related.
Storm warnings were raised in a large swath of Luzon, the country’s most populous region, including in metropolitan Manila, where schools at all levels and most government work were suspended due to the storm.
Along the crowded banks of Marikina River in the eastern fringes of the capital, a siren was sounded in the morning to warn thousands of residents to brace for evacuation in case the river water continues to rise and overflows due to heavy rains.
In the provinces of Cavite, south of Manila, and Northern Samar, in the country’s central region, coast guard personnel used rubber boats and ropes to rescue and evacuate dozens of villagers who were engulfed in waist- to chest-high floods, the coast guard said.
Sea travel was temporarily halted in several ports affected by the storm, stranding more than 3,300 ferry passengers and cargo workers, and several domestic flights were suspended due to the stormy weather.
Downpours have also caused water to rise to near-spilling level in Ipo dam in Bulacan province, north of Manila, prompting authorities to schedule a release of a minimal amount of water later Monday that they say would not endanger villages downstream.
About 20 typhoons and storms batter the Philippines each year. The archipelago lies in the “Pacific Ring of Fire,” a region along most of the Pacific Ocean rim where many volcanic eruptions and earthquakes occur, making the Southeast Asian nation one of the world’s most disaster-prone.
In 2013, Typhoon Haiyan, one of the strongest recorded tropical cyclones in the world, left more than 7,300 people dead or missing, flattened entire villages, swept ships inland and displaced more than 5 million people in the central Philippines.
___
Associated Press journalists Aaron Favila and Joeal Calupitan contributed to this report.
veryGood! (3622)
Related
- Why Cynthia Erivo Needed Prosthetic Ears for Wicked
- Hurricane Helene is unusual — but it’s not an example of the Fujiwhara Effect
- Adam Brody Shares His Surprising Take on an O.C. Revival
- Coach named nearly 400 times in women's soccer abuse report no longer in SafeSport database
- Olivia Munn began randomly drug testing John Mulaney during her first pregnancy
- Digging Deep to Understand Rural Opposition to Solar Power
- Oklahoma prepares for an execution after parole board recommended sparing man’s life
- Alan Eugene Miller to become 2nd inmate executed with nitrogen gas in US. What to know
- 2024 'virtually certain' to be warmest year on record, scientists say
- Hurricane Helene is unusual — but it’s not an example of the Fujiwhara Effect
Ranking
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Something Corporate
- Who plays on Thursday Night Football? Breaking down Week 4 matchup
- How Halle Berry Ended Up Explaining Menopause to Mike Tyson
- The Daily Money: DOJ sues Visa
- 'Yellowstone' premiere: Record ratings, Rip's ride and Billy Klapper's tribute
- Shohei Ohtani 50/50 home run ball headed to auction. How much will it be sold for?
- Check out refreshed 2025 Toyota Sienna minivan's new extra features
- Chiefs' Andy Reid, Patrick Mahomes explain Travis Kelce’s slow start
Recommendation
-
Worker trapped under rubble after construction accident in Kentucky
-
Hurricane Helene threatens ‘unsurvivable’ storm surge and vast inland damage, forecasters say
-
50 Cent's Netflix doc on Diddy allegations will give 'voice to the voiceless,' he says
-
Honey Boo Boo’s Lauryn Pumpkin Shannon Showcases New Romance 2 Months After Josh Efird Divorce Filing
-
Crews battle 'rapid spread' conditions against Jennings Creek fire in Northeast
-
US lawmakers’ concerns about mail ballots are fueled by other issues with mail service
-
US Open Cup final: How to watch Los Angeles FC vs. Sporting Kansas City
-
Alabama to carry out the 2nd nitrogen gas execution in the US